Persona 4: Tides of Sin
by OntoDusk
Summary: Persona 4: Tides of Sin, taking place a year after the truth ending of the original P4. This will feature an OC named Jack Motou who's past will play a major part in this story. Persona 4 and its characters, locations, and the rest of its contents are copyright of Shin Megami Tensei and Atlus. I only own a few characters in the story. Credits to Jun for editing.
1. Chapter 1:The New Fool

"We will be arriving to Inaba in 30 minutes," the intercom repeated until it fell silent. Looking out the window of the train sat a young man about 5'10" in height wearing a simple hoodie, T-shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers. Simple black, short hair and a fairly light complexion, simple build with no real muscles to be seen. The only true interesting thing about him was his eyes. He had two different colored eyes, one being a light blue and another being strangely grayish. He broke his gaze from the window, and took out a locket and looked into it. Inside was a picture of a man and woman holding a child, heartwarming for most, but the young man looked almost pained just starting at it. This young man went by the name of Jack Motou, a Japanese-American coming to stay at his grandparents' place.

A cheerful attendant came along. "May I help you sir?" she asked, surprising the boy. He quickly put the locket away and turned to face the attendant. Upon seeing his eyes, the attendant was almost stunned. The boy noticed her expression, but finding it neither new nor amusing, he said nothing. He just wanted the attendant gone but knew it was her job to annoy him with things such as drinks or food. She felt as if she offended him, but she wasn't sure how. The attendant mustered up the courage to ask again.

"Um…May I help you sir?" asking cautiously.

"Water." He replied without a moment's notice. She almost jumped at the response, it was so quick, no hesitation at all. Nodding quickly, the attendant ran off. Jack chuckled slightly under his breath. He couldn't help it. He was never fond of people, and he couldn't help but feel isolated from everyone. Looking out the window, he saw what appeared to be a wide, open field with a small town of the distance. 'It must be Inaba,' he thought, 'that's where my grandparents live.' He felt rather dazed and bored as he stared, but in his surprise something flew by the window. It was a white butterfly with a ghostly aura. Suddenly, everything fell silent to Jack; as if the world stopped save for him and this strange butterfly as it slowly passed. The moment the butterfly was out of sight, the world seemed to spring back to life as random babble occurred and some footsteps came closer. Something felt wrong to Jack, however. He felt himself getting tired, his eyes heavy and his mind calming.

"Sir, what's wrong? SIR!" the attendant cried out, dropping the water bottle as Jack fell right into unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2: Unseen Destiny

The sound of an engine hummed through Jack's ears as his surrounds came into vision, a large limo interior of navy blue velvet. There was a round table in the middle which stood out, but not as much as the two people in front of Jack. Across from him at the table sat an elderly looking man dressed like a butler, one with a ridiculously elongated nose, stressed filled eyes and a disturbingly large grin. Seated at the side was a young woman, wearing a blue uniform similar to that of a bellhop. She had silky, wavy blonde hair down to the back of her neck held by a small headband; she easily taller than the elderly gentleman, and a quick look to her eyes made Jack tense up. They were a cool piercing yellow unlike anything he had seen before. The elderly man's grin slowly faded as if something happened that shouldn't have. He stared straight into Jack's eyes, freezing the young man in his place. Seven navy blue tarot cards appeared on the table with two already flipped, revealing the Tower and the Moon in the upright position.

"Oh my, another guest so soon!" The elderly man spoke, "This is a rather strange turn of events. However I am sworn to my duty to help you once you've obtained the contract. Welcome to the Velvet room my guest. She is my assistant Margaret and my name is Igor…I am delighted to make your acquaintance."

'I'm not sure if I should be delighted to be your acquaintance…' Jack thought to himself to prevent being rude to the mysterious man known as Igor.

"This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter…" He continued, "It is a room that only those bound by a "contract" may enter. For you to appear here means that such a fate awaits in your near future. Now then, why don't you introduce yourself?"

Jack looked surprised; it was such a simple request yet one that felt of great importance. He wasn't sure if this was a dream or anything, but it felt comfortable however to speak to this man.

"My name is….Jack Motou." Jack said calmly.

"Ah, such a unique name for one to have." Igor chuckled as if he was proud of this moment. "Normally, I'd reveal your fortune. However, it appears that our previous guest has left his fortune here," he said, gesturing to the tarot cards already displayed. As Jack looked at the set, the center card flipped over and revealed a whole new card to the equation: the Fool tarot in the upright position. Almost instantaneously each tarot was enveloped in a bright white light turning blank, all except for the Fool.

"Oh my…this has never happened before," Igor said, looking at the sole tarot. "I wonder what kind of destiny you will lead," a small smile appeared on his face. "For now however I must bid you adieu, farewell."

Within seconds a fog enveloped Jack waking him from the encounter with Igor and his assistant Margaret.


	3. Chapter 3: Encounter

"SIR! SIR!" a female's voice called out to Jack.

"Stop shaking the young man!" a male's voice snapped angrily.

"But… but… he passed out on me and it looked… well, like one of his eyes was hurt."

"Did you ever consider that maybe he has Heterochromia iridum?"

"What's that?"

"It means I have two different colored eyes," groaned Jack as he stood up. His eyes fully came back into focus to reveal the female attendant from before and a stationmaster. Getting up slowly, he glanced around him. He was outside Yasoinaba Station. The conclusion hit Jack hard as he took out a slip of paper depicting an elderly man and woman, both formally dressed. The stationmaster looked at the photo and sighed in relief before walking the young man to the same two elders who appeared to be waiting at the station. The elder man was taller than Jack and was one who exuded power. He had slick, grey hair, a nicely trimmed mustache and was wearing an obviously expensive brown suit. The elderly woman gave off a less threatening yet still wealthy aura. She was slender and nearly as tall as the man and was wearing an expensive beige dress.

"There you are," the elderly gentleman sighed. "You had us worried when you weren't on the train. Thank you for bringing him here, stationmaster, though I didn't expect you to," he chuckled.

"You're welcome, . I owe you at least that much for helping my child raise her grades in Yasogami. Ever since you took charge, the grades have improved in the school." The stationmaster smiled and shook the hands of both the elderly man and woman. 'That's right,' Jack thought, 'Uncle mentioned that Grandpa became the principal of a high school. That might explain why they sent me here.' Coming out of the station was the attendant from before carrying a suitcase that was obviously too heavy for her. Jack felt more than a little bad seeing as she wouldn't budge when he said it was a bad idea for her to help bringing that suitcase out. The elderly woman noticed the attendant's struggle as well and came towards her, picking up the suitcase with relative ease. Both Jack and the attendant couldn't help but look shocked at the amount of strength this woman must have had.

"Wow… she's strong…" The attendant said as she crept towards Jack, "I'm sorry for earlier. I'm new to this and I sort of panicked when you passed out."

"It's fine. Just try not to shake anyone else who's passed out," Jack joked.

"Oh… Is it true that you have Heterowhatever?"

"Um….yeah. It is."

"Really? Grey and light blue…."

"Jack! Let's go, dear," Jack's grandmother said suddenly.

"Actually, I wanted to check around Inaba for a little while. I have a map, so I'll be fine."

Both his guardians looked at each other for a bit, then sighed. His grandfather took out a cell phone and handed it to Jack.

"I heard you don't have your own cell phone, so this is for you to keep. Be careful with it." Jack couldn't help but look a tad surprised. He always had to borrow a cell from his relatives, since he could never get a job or save enough for one. It was an old flip phone, but it could still be used for texting, calling, and even taking pictures. It was simple enough for Jack to use, and he was satisfied with it. After nodding and thanking his grandfather, he quickly ran off into Inaba unsure what to do first. A couple of hours of endlessly roaming around the shopping district left Jack more than a little lost. Looking at his surroundings, he noticed the Yomenaido Bookstore. 'A bookstore? Maybe I'll find something to read,' Jack thought as he reached for the door. Suddenly, it swung open and out walked a person clothed in a light blue shirt, yellow tie, and black pants with short blue hair, and grayish blue eyes staring right at him.

"Hmm? Excuse me, sir, may I pass?" The stranger said in a feminine tone that took Jack by surprise. Taking a quick look at the stranger's face, he noticed more and more how feminine this person was, leaving him speechless.

"Um…. Is there something the matter?"

"Oh, sorry," Jake nodded and looked at the door, then at the stranger. "Um…. is this store up to date on its stories? I'm wondering if there are any new books I can look at?"

"There are plenty of new books in Yomenadio. I'm sure you'll find what you need. If you don't mind me asking, you appear to have an accent. You're not from here, are you?"

"Actually, I'm from America, but my parents taught me Japanese when I was younger so I could speak to my grandparents. The name is Jack Motou."  
"The name is Shirogane, Naoto. You even introduce yourself like a foreigner, it seems."

"Wait, 'Shirogane'? Where have I heard that name before? It sounds familiar…"

"It does? Well, I must excuse myself. Goodbye, Mr. Motou."

"S-sure… Goodbye," Jack said uneasily, lost in thought at the familiarity of the name. Before Jack knew it, he found himself roaming the town yet again, searching for his grandparent's estate on his map. The more Jack tried to follow the map's instructions, the more he realized he had no idea where he was.  
"Hey, kid, is there something wrong?" Jack looked up in surprise and saw a man wearing a grey shirt, a red tie, and black pants. The man wasn't alone, however, as a young girl with pigtails and a pink dress was walking alongside him. Once Jack revealed his face to the two, the young girl stood in awe, most likely noticing the colors of his eyes. Jack didn't mind though, seeing that she seemed to like his eyes, rather than giving the strange looks he normally received.

"Nanako, don't stare, it's rude," the man said.

"Sorry, daddy." The girl whose name was Nanako complied.

"Oh no, it's fine," Jack smiled, something completely rare for him and for anyone who knew him. "Um, yes, I'm trying to find the Motou Estate."

"I can tell you're not from around here, and the accent is a dead giveaway. May I ask why you're looking for the Motou Estate?"

"Oh, I'm Jack Motou. Keisuke Motou is my grandfather. I moved here to live with him and his wife Izuru while I attend Yasogami High School."

"So that's why you're looking for his place. Well, it's not that far from here actually. Keep going down this path and past the Shirogane Estate. It shouldn't be far from there. Oh, I'm Dojima, Ryotaro. This is my daughter Nanako."

"Hello, Jack, I'm pleased to meet you."

"I'm pleased to meet you both. Um, Mr. Dojima, may I ask you something? The… Shirogane Estate? I met someone by the name of Naoto Shirogane. Does that person live there?"

"Oh, you've met her? Yes, she lives there with her grandfather as well."

"Ah, thank you, I'll be off now. Thank you for the directions. Goodbye, Mr. Dojima. Goodbye, Nanako."

After a quick wave, Jack ran off towards the path Dojima had pointed him. 'So I was right… Naoto is a girl…' Jack thought to himself as he passed by the Shirogane Estate. A few minutes later, he found himself at his grandparents' estate. The night went on quietly with just a few explanations from his grandparents explaining what's expected of him in school and how his life has been. Afterwards, Jack went to his new room, a rather grand place, too much for his taste. 'I'll ask them for a different room later,' Jack thought as he lay on the large bed, quickly passing out from the long day.


	4. Chapter 4: Yasogami

Sooner than Jack thought it was morning yet again in Inaba. His grandfather had left him his own Yasogami uniform at the door with directions to the school and the class he was registered to. '3B huh?' Jack thought to himself as he finished putting on the uniform, which was a little large, even for him. Jack left without breakfast figuring he'd get something later in the day. The slow walk to Yasogami was anything but welcomed. He was hoping for a nice quiet stroll but found himself walking with many other students. Jack couldn't help but loath this situation: he never liked the idea of being in groups and the noise they made infuriated him to no end. The entire walk there was filled with talk about if certain friends will be in the same class, who's who in Yasogami, crushes, who's hot and many other generic things. Jack started speed walking to Yasogami just to get away from it all. Soon enough the school came to view, and Jack couldn't help but run towards it. The closer he got the more he realized how similar it was to other schools he has attended: a large building, ton of teenagers, nothing that seemed to stand out. Jack wasted no time in putting his things in the proper locker and heading straight up to 3B. Much to his surprise, most of the class was already there, scattered about in groups. Finding an empty seat, Jack sat himself down quickly and quietly waiting for the teacher to come.

"Hey don't mind if I sit here?" a nearby, random male voice called out suddenly, startling Jack. Next to him stood another student wearing the typical Yagosami uniform and a pair of orange headphones around his neck. He had brown eyes and orange hair, which didn't seem too out of place to Jack, considering his own eyes. Though he tried his best not to show it, one thing did surprise Jack about the student. He, unlike anyone else has in his past school experiences, hadn't said anything about his eyes. 'I guess people here have common courtesy,' Jack thought to himself as he nodded in agreement.

"I haven't seen you before; you must be a new student. The name is Hanamura, Yosuke. Nice to meet you, pal."

"The name is Jack Motou."

"Jack? You're not from here then?"

"I was born in America, then moved here. I kept my American name."

"So you and your folks live here?"

"I live with my grandparents."

"O-oh….uh, sorry about that. Didn't mean to hit a touchy subject like that."

"No, it's fine. Hm?"

Jack looked towards the door as two young ladies entered the classroom. One had long black hair and equally dark eyes wearing a red headband, a red Yasogami uniform shirt with a yellow choker, a black skirt and leggings. The other with light brown hair and eyes wearing a green sweater over her uniform assorted with a few buttons and a black skirt. Yosuke raised his hand and waved at the girls as they walked towards him.

"Well, it looks like we're having class together again." Yosuke laughed.

"Looks like we will." The light brown haired girl said.

"I'm glad we can." The black hair girl agreed.

"So who's this?" The light brown-haired girl looked at Jack as if he was supposed to speak. Jack just stared back at the two girls. 'Wow nothing from them either….I'm starting to like this place,' Jack thought to himself as he took a breath.

"The name is Jack Motou."

"Nice to meet you, Jack! I'm Satonaka, Chie."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Jack. My name is Amagi, Yukiko."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both. I believe the teacher is coming from the sound of the footsteps, I suggest you two sit down where you can."  
No sooner than he said it, a woman with neck-length light brown hair and dark grey eyes walked into the class room carrying a few books. She was wearing a white turtleneck under a brown work jacket and brown jacket. She had a paper in her hand and looked slightly surprised as she read it. She placed the books down and stood up in front of the class.

"As you can see, I'm a new teacher to Yasogami. You may address me as 'Ms. Toriumi'. I am serving as you language teacher and as your homeroom teacher. I from what I read we have a new student as well. Will a Motou, Jack please stand up?"

Jack went straight up to the front of class, introduced himself, and then headed back to his seat. A few students gave curious glances at him and others starting whispering. Ms. Toriumi quickly silenced the class and things went on like normal. The school day went by without any true complication. The school bell rang signaling the end of classes. Ms. Toriumi dismissed the class, all except for Jack.

" May I have a word with you?" Yosuke, Chie and Yukiko gave Jack a look of concern, but he shrugged and told them to go on ahead without him.

Yes?"

"I doubt that it's a coincidence that you share the same last name as the principal."

"You're right, he's my grandfather. Why does it matter?"

"I hope you aren't expecting any special treatment just for that."

"I don't, I want to be treated like any other student."

"I see…Then I expect great things from you."

"Thank you."

Jack hurried downstairs hoping to leave before the others found him. Despite their friendly mannerism he wasn't sure if he wanted to talk to others so soon. Reaching the first floor he rushed to his shoe locker and quickly took his things out.

"Jack? Is that you?" A familiar voice took him by surprised. Jack turned his head to find Naoto, but she wasn't alone. With her stood a rather tall man, easily standing taller than most people Jack knew, especially with all the new people he's been forced to meet. He had blond hair, blue eyes, and a scar above his left eye. He wore the same Yasogami uniform except he was wearing the jacket over his shoulders and tank top with a large skull on it. He had an intimidating aura, but since he was hanging out with Naoto he couldn't possibly be a bad person.

"Uh yeah…I'm an upper classman in 3-B?"

"Ahem…We haven't been introduced?" The blond haired man spoke, obviously a little irritated.

"Oh yes," Naoto coughed and regained her composure for her neglect of introduction, "His name is Mutou, Jack and my friend here is Tatsumi, Kanji."

"Ah, hello, Kanji." Jack rose his hand towards Kanji who immediately took it and shook the hand with a rather powerful grip, unsurprising to Jack as he gave an equally powerful grip back.

"Well Jack don't you have a strong handshake." He laughed.

"I could say the same to you." Jack laughed back.

"So where are you going Jack? I presume either heading home or going outside with friends you made in class?"

"Well….I've met an interesting trio who go by the names Yosuke Hanamura, Chie Satonoka and Yukiko Amagi. They seem friendly enough."

"You know them? We've been friends with them for quite a while!"

"Uh, really, Kanji?"

"He is correct that we know them. We used to meet and be around each other plenty of times last year. We still see them, but not as often."

"Hey, Naoto, didn't Yosuke send you a message to meet in Junes?" Kanji gave a puzzled look at Naoto who shot a quick glare back at him that hushed him into silence.

"Oh, you two are meeting the others? Is there some sort of special occasion?"

"It's nothing, Jack. We're just going to head out with the others today. Right Kanji?"

"Uh…yeah! Right, Naoto!"

"Ok then…" Naoto and Kanji waved their goodbyes to Jack. Jack couldn't help but feel suspicious of what the five were going to meet for but he decided it be better if he didn't get involved with anything they may be up to. Walking by the Samegawa River Jack noticed a few droplets of rain hit his head. Jack wasn't blind to signs of a rain as the sky grew darker and the sound of thunder was heard. Since he had no umbrella, the incoming rain wasn't something Jack would consider ideal, so he sprinted for his grandparents' home. 'Sudden showers? Strange classmates? I'm pretty sure I wasn't told of this on the brochure.' Jack thought to himself as he entered the house. He looked at his half-depleted cell phone it read 17:00 before giving a sigh of relief. Sitting on the couch Jack closed his eyes deciding it would be best for to take a quick nap from the long, semi-interesting day he had.


	5. Chapter 5: The Midnight Channel

The roar of the thunder snapped Jack awake from his nap. He found himself still in the living room covered in a blanket and a covered dinner lay on a coffee table.  
"Uh…What time is it?" Taking out his nearly depleted cell, he looked at the time which read 23:55. Shaking his head, he got up and stretched, put the food away, and folded the blanket as the pitter-patter of rain was heard outside. A strange light illuminated the living room, causing Jack to jerk his head up at the source. A heavy display of static was on full display on the TV. Jack couldn't help but stare in shock; he was sure he had never even touched the TV and it was displaying static on its own. Jack walked closer as the static cleared a little, revealing the silhouette of a young man sitting on a tomb stone laughing greatly, yet no sound came. As the young man began to turn around, the TV faded back into gray and then silence. Jack wasn't sure whether he was dreaming or if he was really awake. Pinching his own arm, he realized that he was well awake and that what he witnessed was as real as he was. Sighing, Jack decided he better head to bed instead of trying to understand what just happened.

Soon enough, it was morning again and Jack did his best to pretend what happened last night didn't occur. Walking down the same occupied path as yesterday, it seemed more silent than before, as people seemed to be whispering about something. Jack tried his best to overhear exactly what they were saying, but he could only catch one thing that seemed to repeat over and over, the Midnight Channel. 'A Midnight Channel?' Jack pondered, 'Is that the weird show that came up on the TV? It wasn't that visible though.' As he continued down the path with Yasogami in view, he heard someone calling out to him from behind. He turned to face an exhausted Naoto, who obviously was running after him for a quite a while.

Regaining her composure, she quickly looked up and asked, "I'm sorry, but has anything strange happened to you recently?"

"Stange? No, nothing really. Why?"

"Oh… ok." There was a distant look in her eyes. 'Something is going on and she knows it, but what?' Jack thought as he and Naoto continued walking in awkward silence towards Yasogami. As they arrived at the entrance a newsman and his team seemed to be preparing some story in front of the school.

"Three… Two… One… Hello and good morning, folks! This is Hiro Takiyama, and today we'll be asking students about how they feel about the new principal Keisuke Motou! As we've heard, under his supervision the grades in Yasogami have massively improved. Is there a chance that he's purposely bumping up grades? Maybe someone is attempting to look good with his superiors? Even more interesting, a source has informed me that at the last second, he had registered his own grandson to the school as a third year student. This is a first for Yasogami's history of enrollment. Is he playing favorites? Are the improved grades supposed to be an excuse for his actions?"

"Excuse, if you're willing to promote slander on public television, you better have proof of such things." Jack did not sound pleased one bit. He had to transfer many times since he was young and had no patience for anyone mocking the people taking care of him. Naoto sensed an incredible amount of hostility emanating from Jack. She knew if she didn't stop him soon, this might end badly.

"Huh? Who the heck are you?"

"I'm that 'favorite' you just mentioned, you twit. I had to be enrolled here as a senior since it's the only high school in the area, you moron."

"H-hey! Didn't they teach you to respect your elders?"

"I would, but mocking you on live footage seems to show how under-planned this farce was."

"W-wah…it's running!? Cut the tapes! Cut the film! Just turn it off!"

"Jack, control yourself. I don't want this to get out of hand," said Naoto sternly.

"Argh….y-you…b-brat! You had to make me look like an idiot on public TV!"

"It wouldn't take that much to make you look like an idiot."

"Why you-!?"

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" Silence filled the air as many students quickly ran into the school and Mr. Motou, the school principal, walked onto the scene. Naoto and Jack immediately tensed up at his booming voice while Hiro flinched and jumped back a good meter.

"Ah…oh…you must be Mr. Motou?"

"I am, and you are?"

"The name is Hiro Takiyama and we wanted to do a live coverage of your schools success."

"Yet from what I was hearing, you were planning on invoking slander?"

"N-no, it's not what you thin-"

"I did not schedule for any kind of interview today. Coming here when classes are running is a waste of my time, my faculty's time and my students' time. I demand you leave my school immediately, or I will get the police to escort you out!"

"I…. I…. ARGH! FINE!" Hiro and his team quickly left the school premises as some of the other students laughed as his retreat. Mr. Motou shot quick glances at everyone, causing the students to hurry into school. Jack and Naoto darted for the door when Mr. Motou spoke.

"Jack, a word? Ms. Shirogane, you can go." With a quick nod from Jack, Naoto headed to class with a worried look on her face. Very few people expressed the authority that Mr. Motou commanded, and Jack was currently in the line of fire.

"Uh… yes, grandfather?"

"You will refer to me as ' ' at school."

"Yes, sir!"

"What is going on? Your grandmother and I didn't enroll you here to start trouble with the press. I may be your grandfather, but I am also your school principal. I do not want to have to deal with anything that will damage this school's reputation as well as your own. I want you to be comfortable with your new home and school, so please don't incite trouble."

Jack was stunned. Despite his stern demeanor, he was honestly trying to keep Jack out of trouble. Jack quickly apologized, and his grandfather let him to go to class. Still standing outside, Mr. Motou looked into the sky stared at the clouds.

"Something feels off about today….I can't tell why, but I feel like something is going to happen…"

Once again, classes passed on as usual as if nothing had happened that morning. Soon the school bell rang and everyone was preparing to go. There was a tense silence between Chie, Yukiko, Yosuke and Jack as they walked down the stairs together until Yosuke took initiative.

"Uh… Jack?"

"Yes?"

"We heard that you ticked off a news reporter on live television."

"So? What of it?"

"I-It's nothing. Say, has anything weird been going on around you? See anyone odd?"

"Okay, you three, out with it."

"Huh?" Chie responded.

"What do you mean, Jack?" Yukiko questioned back.

"I'm not an idiot, you know. Something is up. Naoto and Kanji had to meet with you yesterday about something, and I'm not blind at all to how strangely Kanji had put it."

"W-well, you see…. uh, Chie?"

"Don't look at me! Yukiko?"

"Uh… Jack, we just had to plan something for a friend. That's all."

"Really? That's all? It's not about this 'Midnight Channel' that I've heard rumors about?"

"The Midnight Channel? That's an old rumor, so don't worry about it. A couple of friends are coming back in the summer, so we are preparing a small party for them."

"Alright then…" The silence returned soon afterwards between the four as they descended the staircase. Upon reaching the first floor, Kanji and Naoto were standing in wait. As Yosuke and the others bid Jack adieu, he couldn't help but sigh in frustration. They were obviously hiding something and were less than willing to give Jack answers. Walking down the path home, Jack noticed Naoto standing at a distance looking towards him. 'Is she… waiting for me?' Jack thought as he approached her.

"Is there something wrong, Naoto?"

"I wanted to apologize…"

"Can I ask what for?"

"Well, if I didn't hold you up, we wouldn't have run into the news reporter and caused you issues with your grandfather…"

"Wait, you know he's my grandfather?"

"Well, I am a detective and the fact that you two have the same last name was interesting enough already."

"Detective… The Detective Prince!?" Jack exclaimed in realization as Naoto looked away with a slight blush.

"I haven't heard that nickname in a year... T-that's all behind me, however. Anyway… I need to take my leave; I told the others I left something in school. If I stay here any longer, it'll look suspicious, so I should go. Good day."

"Hey, Naoto?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you for your concern."

"U-uh, yes… I'll be going then." Naoto sped off, leaving Jack with a good laugh as he headed home. Time seemed to pass by quickly as he stayed home yet again for the day. As he watched the news, the story of Jack's run-in with Hiro came up, which seemed to have gotten Hiro fired after Jack exposed the reporter's plan to slander his grandfather and the school. After that was the weather with another forecast of heavy rain that night. Jack decided that he should check if the Midnight Channel would show again. Staying up again, Jack sneaked into the living room as midnight dawned in Inaba. Jack couldn't help but feel a little silly about staring at the blank screen. 'This is completely pointless,' Jack thought as he started to turn away, but the TV then flashed into life. There was no static this time. The screen was crisp and clear, displaying a graveyard filled with tombstones. Jack shuddered at the screen, but suddenly a voice spoke to him.

"Do you want to face the truth?"

"Huh? Who's there!?"

"Do you wish to find out why this grave is appearing before you?"

"I don't understand what's going on, who are you!?"

"It's simple really…" No sooner than that, the TV's screen rippled like water as a hand covered in pure darkness reached out and grabbed Jack by the collar of his shirt, pulling at him towards its origin. Panicking, Jack tried to force the arm off him as it continued to pull him closer and closer to the TV. 'This is not good, not good at all!' Jack thought as he grabbed onto the sides of the TV in an attempt to anchor himself and avoid being taken. After what seemed like hours of struggling, the hand retreated. Jack backed away in relief. Suddenly, a storm of hands rushed out of the screen and snatched Jack, pulling him straight into the TV. Before Jack could even call for help, he was swallowed up by the TV. A blinding light overtook him, preventing him from seeing anything, and then…darkness. Laughter filled the air as Jack's tried his best to shake off the drowsiness he was suffering. Looking around, there was a disturbing image of ruins that reminded him of the massive graveyard from before, with strange fog surrounding the site as if it were choking it. A figured formed from the fog and walked towards Jack. He was dressed in a male Yasogami uniform with a blank white mask concealing his face. The figure approached Jack and looked at him.

"Well, well…Looks like someone woke up too soon…. It's too bad really. Things aren't ready yet. Night!" A stabbing pain to his stomach caused Jack to lurch forward, fighting to stay conscious from the shock. He saw blood pouring out of his stomach with some sort of blade sticking out. Jack knew from the amount of blood loss he was having that he wasn't going to stay awake. One thing did bother him deeply as he fought a losing battle to stay awake. That person who stabbed him and left him to bleed…that person's voice was his own.


	6. Chapter 6: Shadows

"Gooooood evening, everyone! I hope you're not busy tonight, ha ha! Tonight we're running a special for our wannabe tough guy right here! You know him! You love him! He's the new kid on block, Jaaaaaaaack Motou! Oh, yes, cue the lights on him…. That's better. Oh, the stab wound? A nasty thing, isn't it? Don't worry; if I keep it there, he'll die in a few hours, hahahaha! Oh, I guess I should introduce myself; it _is_the polite thing to do. I'm Jack Motou. What, don't believe me with dying boy over there? Alright then, mask-off time…. There, the resemblance is uncanny, is it not? Won't be needing this mask anymore, it seems…. huh? Oh darn, we wasted too much time. The show is starting to fade! Oh well. I guess the corpse will be coming to Inaba early then."

"Oh no…" Naoto stared in disbelief as the TV display faded to black. Soon enough, her cell phone rang; it was Yosuke.

"Yosuke, you saw that right!?"

"I already called the others. We need to go to Junes. _Now_. If that Shadow is really Jack's, he's going to be dead by morning."

"Okay, I'll hurry there."

The Investigation Team that formed a year ago and still resided in Inaba joined together in front of the old flat screen TV that served as their gate to another world.

"Where's Teddie, Yosuke?" Yukiko asked.

"He's coming now."

"Damn that bear!"

"Relax, Kanji."

"I don't blame him, Yukiko. Teddie is taking too long." Chie groaned. Naoto remained silent from the rest.

"Did someone call for moi?" They turned around to a young man wearing a frilled white shirt with a rose accessory and expensive pants to boot. The five looked at him with slight irritation as the man looked back in confusion. Naoto quickly broke the silence.

"Teddie, please, we need to go back into the TV world. Someone got thrown in and we need to help him. If not, he may come back murdered by this morning."

"W-WHAT!? Oh no, this beary, beary bad! We need to go now!"

"Then open the portal, you damn bear!" Teddie quickly complied, sending the group back to the TV world where each member had obtained the power to summon another part of themselves to fight its inhabitants. During their last visit, they had been led by another member. He defeated the goddess Izanami and dispersed a fog that would have invaded Inaba and turned all its inhabitants into Shadows, creatures created from uncontrolled raw negative emotions. Their efforts had made the TV world a much calmer place. The sight that greeted the team shocked them into silence: the fog once again roamed the TV world, turning it back into a twisted plane of existence as if all their past struggles were pointless. The quiet didn't last long as Teddie, in his colorful bear suit, dropped to his knees, shaking uncontrollably.

"Uh… Ted? What's going on?" Yosuke asked cautiously.

"There's…. there's…. I can feel something…"

"Teddie, what do you mean by 'feel'? Is there something troubling here?" Naoto asked.

"I don't know, but it feels like all the shadows are heading that way, and it's trying to pull me in!"

"A… shadow magnet?" Chie questioned.

"Teddie, will you be okay?" Yukiko asked.

"I'm… I'm fine. Let's go!" The bear darted off ahead while the rest stared at him in worry. After chasing Teddie for what seemed like an hour, the group came across something that showed up on the Midnight Channel in the last two days, the massive graveyard that Shadow Jack was in. The area retained the look of a stereotypical graveyard, covered in decaying trees and masses of tombstones with the fog hugging the ground as if it wished to be one with it. One thing did stick out though was the enormous amount of dried blood that seemed to coat each tombstone.

"W-wow…. This place gives me the creeps..." Yosuke stared off in disbelief.

"I gotta bear it! I can sense something trying to pull me in, but I won't let it tell me what to do!" Teddie roared and stuck out his chest.

"A graveyard… Why of all places would a person's mind make such a thing?" Naoto questioned, causing everyone to suddenly fall silent.

"We… don't really know anything about Jack, do we?" Yukiko looked at the others sadly.

"Well, duh, we don't! But… he seems like a nice guy, right?" Chie asked.

"Look, he's in the TV and in danger. We were all in the same spot as him. Regardless of who he is, we have to help him," Yosuke said. All but Kanji looked at him in shock, surprised at seeing him suddenly take charge of the leaderless group. Without telling the others, Kanji took a few steps on his own to look at the tombstones. Many were covered in either moss or dried blood, making them difficult to read. Grumbling, Kanji walked a little further into the cemetery to find a grave clear of moss and blood. Upon reading it, Kanji felt a slight chill run up his spine.

"Kanji! Why'd you run off without of us!? You had us worried," Chie berated as the group came upon Kanji, catching him off guard and making him jump in surprise. Regaining his nerves and composure, he pointed at the tombstone.

"Uh, guys? You might wanna have a look at this." The five did so and looked upon the clear tombstone. Etched onto it were three words: The Sinner's Cemetery.

"This is just wrong… Everything about this place feels wrong, guys…" Chie said uneasily.

"Chie's right. What kind of place is this? It feels different from the other locations." Yukiko's tone reflected the same uneasy feeling.

Suddenly, a group of shadows appeared, each recognizable to the group: A few crows carrying lanterns, humanoids resembling a famous American wrestler, giant mouths, and strange crosses with scales attached to the sides. However, none of them attacked the group. Instead, they started forcefully meshing into one another in screams of pure agony, forming a few pitch-black blobs. A tense silence filled the air as the investigation team members saw the blobs slowly take the shape of winged demons and harden into stone. Masks similar to those of all shadows appeared on their faces, but something was off. Each mask was a crimson red, the openings of the mouth and eyes were sewn shut, and two horns stuck out above the eyes. What surprised the group the most was the number on the masks, as they had never seen it before: a roman numeral fifteen.

"What the hell are those things!?"

"They look like gargoyles!"

"Watch out, Kanji!" Yukiko screamed as the stone demons flew towards Kanji, forcing him to back away. The gargoyles hovered above the group and attempted to take swipes at them. As he stared angrily at the gargoyles, a tarot card of the Emperor arcana came to Kanji, and he slammed down on it with his fist.

"Crush 'em, Rokuten Maoh!" roared Kanji as a giant mechanical male humanoid appeared. It was red with flames painted on it, had an extremely long and pointed mustache, and was wielding a large sword. The gargoyles hissed at the giant as he swung the sword at them. The giant took a quick step and called down lighting on a couple of gargoyles, causing them to explode.

The tarots of the Magician, Priestess, Chariot, Star, and Fortune fell upon the remaining members as they hit the cards.

"Go! Susano-o!" called out Yosuke as another male humanoid appeared, this one sporting a blue jumpsuit, red gloves and boots, and glasses. He had long red hair flowing skyward as two razor blades spun around him, one on his neck and the other around his body. Susano-o quickly went to work as he shot a few green tornadoes towards the gargoyles, forcing them away from the group.

"Hear me, Amaterasu!" A faceless woman of light materialized from Yukiko. Wielding a katana, the female persona wore ornamental accessories attached to her hands, giving the appearance of wings. She quickly took to the air and, with a quick snap of her fingers, ignited some gargoyles, causing them to come crashing down onto one another before dissipating.

"Grrrroowl! Kamui!" Teddie growled as a white, bulbous, boiler-like creature appeared. It had stubby legs and arms, giant hands armed with claws, and a missile on its back like a tail. Kamui quickly summoned a blizzard, causing the remaining gargoyles to freeze over and hit the ground.

"Now, Suzuka Gongen!" Chie summoned a female warrior wearing black and silver armor. Wielding what appeared to be a double-bladed lightsaber, she dashed towards the frozen gargoyles and smashed them into pieces. The team looked around to make sure there weren't any more of these creatures that could randomly attack.

"They weren't so tough," Kanji boasted.

"Yeah, but if they keep coming in groups, we might have a few problems with all of us fighting them every time," Yosuke sighed. Chie looked around for a second, puzzled.

"Uh, guys? Where's Nao-" A coffin burst out of the ground beneath the team, shaking wildly before opening to reveal yet another shadow in the same arcana as the gargoyles. It started to glow but was instantly cut into a multitude of pieces by a single blade. Standing in front of everyone was a male humanoid, known as Yamato Takeru, wearing a regal uniform of blue and white with a cape attached to his hands to give the appearance of wings like Amaterasu. He gestured for the group to look forward as he vanished. They turned to where he was pointing to find Naoto running ahead with her persona hacking at anything in her way.  
"I think she wants us to hurry," sighed Yosuke as the group quickly ran after her, summoning their personas to keep the gargoyles and coffins at bay. After running through the graveyard and defeating a countless amount of gargoyles and coffins, the Investigation Team finally came to a large gate with Shadow Jack waving and smiling across from them as if saying hello. Pushing the gate open, they rushed onto the lot where the bleeding Jack and his shadow lay in wait.

"Hey there! I'm glad you finally made it here after running into some of my new friends. Ah, before you speak, hear me out: let me kill Jack. Don't look at me like I'm crazy. This place is The Sinner's Cemetery. It only appears for those who have ultimate regrets and wish for an escape. I can promise Jack that escape. After all… I am his shadow."

"Escape!? You want to murder him, you asshole!" Kanji roared.

"Y-you… You're beary evil! The shadows are going nuts because of you!"

"Hey! Hey! Don't start accusing people of… ha ha ha! Oh god, I can't keep a straight face. Of course I want to murder Jack! Once he's dead, I'll be free forever to be my own being! I'll be able to go around and murder anyone and everyone I feel like! It'll be such a blast! Heck, I'll try to get more shadows in on the fun if possible. All we ever want is freedom from the idiots who lie to themselves; why else did your shadows go mad?" Everyone stared at the Shadow in silence. The bit of truth stung them all equally as the Shadow laughed on at the misery of the place. Naoto took a step forward and faced the mad shadow.

"If you wanted to murder Jack, why didn't you just do it instead of announcing it on the Midnight Channel?"

"Huh? Oh, right. Well, you see, the shadows told me something interesting… There were others who were sent here before and had overcome their own shadows. So, I figured why not have those people come here? It'd be faster to get rid of all the annoying obstacles in the way if they came after the poor boy. Well then… time to wake Jack up to the truth…" Shadow Jack then went back to the unconscious, bleeding Jack. Everyone's eyes widened as the shadow grabbed the blade that impaled Jack.

"Hey, don't do that!" Yosuke cried as the group charged towards the shadow. It was too late, however, as the shadow ripped the blade right out of Jack.


	7. Chapter 7: Diablos

"Dad? Mom? Where are you? Why is the sky green? Why did the water turn to blood!? MOMMY! DADDY!" A little boy walked slowly around the empty streets of Port Island. He was shaking, reasonably so, for there were coffins and blood as far as the eye could see. The world appeared distorted around the boy. He continued to wander aimlessly around the streets in search of his parents. At a distance stood Jack watching the little boy, his face full of pain and horror.

"NO! DON'T FIND THEM! DON'T FIND MOM AND DAD!" Jack cried at the boy, who obviously couldn't hear him, yet he continued to beg the young boy. No matter how far the boy went, Jack was able to see what he was seeing. 'I'm…. reliving it….. No… Not again…. NO!' thought Jack, grabbing his head in pain. Time passed slowly for the two as the boy ran around the streets of Port Island, unaware of the dangers he was approaching. Before long, two new voices were heard by Jack and the young boy.

"Jack! Jack, where are you?"

"Jack, dear, please say something!"

"Mommy!? Daddy!?" The little boy found a man and a woman and smiled happily, calling out as he ran towards them. The man and woman stared in surprise, but smiled back and proceeded to run towards the boy. Hugging him, the parents proceeded to comfort the crying boy while telling him that everything will be fine and things will return to normal soon. Jack wanted to look away as living blobs of darkness crept towards the small family before-

An intense pain overtook Jack, causing him to flinch and grab his stomach region. Upon opening his eyes, he found himself in the graveyard from before. A quick glance around him was met with his look-alike, his classmates, and a strange colorful bear.

"W-what? You guys? Why are you here?"

"They're here for the show, of course! It's time for them to learn the truth about you, after all. It's what this world is about: humans get curious about what they see and they think about it, then this world responds to that curiosity. It calls to us…" Shadow Jack laughed as he threw the blade onto the ground before it dissipated into darkness.

"What…what do you mean?"

"What? Why don't you let these people know the truth? It's been quite some time since I've been this free. It's the same freedom you desire, is it not? After all… our parents are dead, but not as dead as you are. Ever since they passed away, we've been forced to travel over and over and over and had to behave like good kids just so our relatives can take care of us. The ones who don't deserve anything!"

"But it's your-"

"It's your fault boy! You had the chance and you blew it! None of this would've happened if you listened to them back then!"

"Jack…" Yukiko said sadly as the others stood stunned by the one-sided argument between Jack and his Shadow.

"Whatever happens, we'll beat his shadow like the rest, right guys?" Kanji said sternly.

"Right!" Chie, Teddie, and Naoto agreed in unison.

"Alright, guys, get ready." Yosuke said, his magician tarot appearing before him.

"… It… It's not my fault… I didn't know… I didn't know…." Jack pleaded.

"You did know! You knew what would happen because I told you what would happen! We are the same, stop denying it all! You want it all to end, you want to stop having to be so ideal to everyone you meet! You want to spill the truth about what happened to your parents that day and tell them it's all your fault!"  
"No… s-stop it! STOP IT! I…I refuse!"

"You refuse!? Refuse what!? We're the same person, you can't refuse!"

"No, we're not! You're not me!"

"Ha hah….ha ha ha ha ha! Finally! I'm free to be my own being!" Shadow Jack gleefully cried out as shadows that came from nowhere began pouring into his body.

"Huh!? Growl! I'm being pulled in!" Teddie screeched as he started sliding towards Shadow Jack. Chie and Kanji quickly grabbed him and pinned him down as a multitude of shadows merged with Shadow Jack, covering him in a dark mist. Two large red wings with black plating burst out of the mist, and with one flap, blew it all away to reveal a tall, muscular red demon incased in pitch black armor. His arms sported gauntlets with jagged claws sticking out. On top of the shadow's head rested the same horned mask that the gargoyles wore and his chest bore another mask attached to its chest plate. The black and white mask split vertically with a zero on the forehead.

"Ha ha ha! Now this is amazing! Let's begin the mindless slaughter!"

"We won't let you! Susano-o!"

"Rokuten Maoh!" The two personae flew towards the large shadow while casting a combination of lighting and wind spells, causing it to roar back from the direct hit. Shrugging off the assault, Shadow Jack flew towards the two personae, blades at hand trying to take swipes. Susano-o leapt into the sky while Rokuten Moah swung his sword forward, forcing the Shadow to catch the blade.

"Amaterasu!"

"Kamui!" The two personae appeared and shot a mix of fire and ice at the seemingly defenseless Shadow.

"Ouch….is that all you got? It tickles," laughed the Shadow. He pushed the sword away and proceeded to grab Rokuten Moah's head before slamming it into the ground. Kanji grabbed his own head in pain, feeling the blows dealt to his persona.

"Suzuka Gongen!" Chie called out. The armored samurai flew out and kicked the Shadow straight in the face. The Shadow stumbled, so she proceeded to attack it relentlessly with a series of swift kicks and slashes. At first it seemed to be effective, but soon the grunts of pain faded from the Shadow, and Chie gripped her chest in pain. Suzuka Gongen's assault had ended with the blades of the shadow's right arm impaling her chest. With a simple flick of the wrist, the demon sent the persona flying into the fence surrounding the graveyard.

"I gave you all enough time to play around… Now it's my turn!"

"Susano-o, let's go!" The ninja-like persona dashed straight down from above, summoning two green twisters aimed right at the shadow. Laughing maniacally, Shadow Jack flew directly into the twisters, dissipating them before jabbing his blades into Susano-o. Yosuke fell to his knees in agony. Kamui and Amaterasu rushed forward in an attempt to aid the others, but the shadow reappeared behind Kamui, grabbing the poor persona and launching him into Amaterasu at high velocity, causing the two to fly into the large tombstone near Jack.

"Yamato Takeru!" Naoto called, the small humanoid zipping through the sky, attempting to slash at the shadow as his persona user had done. Yukiko ran towards Jack while Teddie and Kanji took the injured members of the group and distanced themselves from the clash between personae and shadow.

"Jack, you need to admit that he is you, or we won't be able to beat him," Yukiko pleaded as Jack stared in shock of what was going on. His Shadow, their personae, the TV world, it was just so much to take in. What was worse was that his Shadow turned into some giant, demonic monstrosity that was hell-bent on killing them all. Yukiko and Naoto desperately tried to unlock the chains binding Jack, but to no avail.

"Why can't these chains open?" Naoto growled in frustration.

"Naoto, maybe we can use our per- " Yukiko was cut short as the shadow threw Yamato Takeru into Amaterasu, sending them straight into the ground. Shadow Jack flew straight down and proceeded to assault the remaining two personae. Both girls fell to their knees in severe pain from the attack. Kamui and Rokuten Maoh reappeared as Kanji and Teddie came back, attempting to fend off the Shadow; however, it fought back more aggressively than they were able to handle. Struggling, Naoto summoned Yamato Takeru and commanded the persona to cut the chains around Jack, freeing him.

"You… need to admit… he's you…" she panted.

"But… but…"

"Please, Jack…"

Jack stared helplessly at his Shadow as Naoto's words were muffled in his mind. A creature that knew who he was, and what he had done... claiming it was once free. 'It doesn't look like the monster… it… it can't be him!' Jack thought. As he gaped at the Shadow, Jack couldn't help but feel ashamed and terrified. Jack's own fears and regret put in full display in front of these people. They heard his hatred of having to play the model boy just to avoid being treated differently. They heard his parents are dead, that he's been living it out in guilt, that he had something to do with why his parents are gone. Jack hated this. He couldn't help but hate it. That monster was created out of his guilt and frustration and he wanted to do something but couldn't. 'Damn it…I want to help them… I want to stop this damn thing…' Jack thought as he watched Teddie and Kanji's personae fight a losing battle against the Shadow. Once again, that ghostly white butterfly appeared in front of Jack. The world became silent and still as a voice seemed to speak to Jack in his own mind, unheard by all.

"So, you seek the power to fight as they do?"

"I… I do. But how can I!?" Jack said on an impulse.

"Normally, one in this world must be willing to accept their other self. However, there is another way for one to obtain the power to fight the shadows."  
"Then tell me please! I need to help them! I don't want others to die because of me…"

"Then agree to a contract."

"A contract? Who are you?"

"I am Philemon, a dweller between consciousness and unconsciousness. We are in a different plane of existence, one in which it's just truly you and I and time has no meaning. Now, I believe you've heard this question before, but let me ask you this: What is your name?" Jack recognized that question from his meeting with the strangers Igor and Margret. 'There must be a connection to the two,' Jack thought as he stared at the butterfly just fluttering about.

"My name… is Jack Motou."

"Splendid. There aren't many who cannot remember their identity in this domain. Tell me this: do you know the many different selves within you?"

"Different selves?"

"The selves of divine love and of demonic cruelty. Humans live by wearing different masks; your current self may be only one of those innumerable selves. However, it seems you have a very firm grip on your identity. With this strong will, I shall bestow upon you the power of persona, but as I said, this is a contract, and you must fulfill one thing."

"What do I have to do?" Jack stared at the butterfly.

"You must live up to the choices and actions you take. Everything you do must be of your own choice and responsibility. Do you agree?" Looking at the butterfly Jack saw the guise of a man in grey with a white mask that had a butterfly wing painted on it. Jack knew the next thing he said would change his life forever.

"I agree."

"Then repeat this and unleash the many selves within you…" Suddenly the butterfly faded away and time returned to normal. Kanji and Teddie were taking a serious beating as Yukiko and Naoto attempted to get back up to fight. Taking a step forward, Jack faced his Shadow. The girls called out to Jack, telling him to stop and get away, but Jack paid no attention. The world slowly grew silent to Jack as a ghostly blue aura surrounded him, putting the remaining Investigation Team members in shock.

"PER-" Jack's Shadow turned around and stared at Jack in total confusion of what was happening.

"-SO-" A velvet blue tarot card appeared before Jack, revealing the arcana of The Fool. Reaching at the card Jack, felt a strange urge to destroy it.

"Wait a minute?" The Shadow stared, "No! This isn't happening!" The Shadow roared as he dashed in front of Jack. Jack stared straight at the giant Shadow as his hand gripped around the tarot and crushed it, the sound of shattering glass echoing throughout the graveyard.

"-NA!" The ghost blue aura erupted into tall blue flames as the outline of a demon-like entity formed within. The flames dispersed, revealing a rather tall cybernetic demon. Its legs and tail were organic in appearance up to the waist, which was completely mechanical, including a metal spine that connected to a ribcage housing the remaining flesh of its chest. Its left arm was completely mechanized and armed with a large tri-talon claw, while its right arm retained its natural tissue and wielded a broken stone sword with a band on the hilt. The head of the demon had a fierce appearance with bull-like horns and razor-sharp fangs and looked intently at the Shadow. The Persona spread the mechanical, three-part wings on his back and bellowed a loud roar that forced the Shadow back.

"I am thou, and thou art I… From the sea of thy soul, I come forth…. I am Diablos, King of the Underworld! You wished for power… Now let us face the truth together."

"No! How can you get a Persona without me!?" The Shadow griped in rage and charged at Jack. Raising his hand, Jack pointed at his Shadow as a small ball of fire appeared in Diablos' jaws. Widening its jaws, a blast of fire flew at the oncoming Shadow, taking him completely by surprise. The Shadow flew back and spat out a similar attack at the Persona, but he cut at flames to prevent the fire from touching his user before darting forwards himself. Shadow Jack took a few quick swipes at Diablos' ribcage with little effect to the metal frame. With a heavy swing of the stone sword, Diablos sent Shadow Jack flying into a few of the rotting trees in the cemetery. Taking no chances, the Persona flew forward, smashing the Shadow's skull with its stone blade. It proceeded to hack viciously, tearing into the Shadow's armor using its mechanical arm. Picking up the beaten Shadow, the Persona slammed it repeatedly into the ground until the Shadow reverted to its more human appearance.

"Damn you... Shouldn't have taken all those hits early," the Shadow said as he got up. Injured and deresolving with visible static effects on his being, he stared back at his original counterpart. Dark matter seemed to spill out of his many wounds, dripping onto the ground of the cemetery; the strange soil drank it up greedily. Jack stared back as Diablos reappeared behind him, readying his for the Shadow. His Shadow smirked as a giant blob of dark matter rose up and slammed itself into the Shadow, consuming it.

"I'm not going to let you get away!" Jack called out as Diablos stabbed the blob which melted into the ground. Silence filled the air as Kanji, Teddie, Yukiko and Naoto all weakly stared at Jack and the demon behind him. Moments passed and nothing occurred; it was quickly speculated by all that the new shadows came from Shadow Jack and his retreat must have caused them to disappear. Diablos faded away as Jack turned towards the others, signaling to Kanji to help him get the girls. He didn't want to admit it, but he was more than a little upset that the Shadow had gotten away. Kanji quickly picked up the weakened Naoto, which kind of edged Jack off. He needed to ask her questions, but for now he decided to keep quiet about it. He had Yukiko climb on his back as the two walked toward the exit with Teddie leading the way. Jack stared at the bear-like entity for a few moments, but figured that everything should be put on hold until they could take the girls someplace safe, as they hoped Chie and Yosuke were. A few minutes into the walk Jack noticed the fog that loomed around the atmosphere. If he wasn't close enough to see Kanji and Naoto, he'd lose the group and would definitely be hopelessly lost. What puzzled Jack more was how he even saw, let alone fight, his own Shadow. 'My Shadow… why? I thought… maybe then… no… it was a car accident… wasn't it? That's what the Kirijo's said…' Jack felt so scared and confused about this all. He wanted to tell himself that he shouldn't be, but the proof that his Shadow was real frightened him greatly. That Shadow was proof enough that his nightmare was not a nightmare, but an event from long ago, something he would need to hide from the others. Yukiko, who was still awake on his back, felt something off about Jack, as if he was heavily disturbed by something. Suddenly, she felt Jack shake a little as he walked. Tear drops were falling from Jack's face. No noise, no hysterical shaking, just simple, quiet tears hit the ground as Jack carried her. She held onto him a little tighter as if meaning to hug him. Jack, noticing this, looked away to ensure no one saw his face as the group headed towards the entrance the others had grown accustomed to seeing.


	8. Chapter 8: The Hanged Man

"Hey there's a strange smell in the air…" said Teddie who was sniffing the air. The bear couldn't help but face different directions, trying to find out what was wrong. Unlike the normal assortment of odor, a foul one filled the air around them but he couldn't point out where it was. After a brief moment of discussion, no one understood what he was talking about, so they had Teddie let go of the subject. _"I really wish my nose was still great."_ the bear said, moping along.

At what was at first a quiet walk soon was soon occupied with the sound of heavy breathing coming from Jack. The first to realize this was Yukiko, who looked at him confused for a moment. Soon she felt something warm sliding down her leg. Yukiko realized that Jack was still bleeding and yet he made no attempt to let the others know. _"How long has it been!? Did he seriously let himself bleed this long? How is he even alive!?'_ Yukiko thought in panic. She jumped off him, causing everyone to turn around and check up on the duo.

"Quick! Show me the stab wound!" Yukiko demanded.  
"I'm fin-"  
"I said to show me the wound!"

A brief moment of silence filled the group as everyone stared at the two. A mix of concern and shock filled everyone. Jack hesitated a little. He couldn't help realizing that hiding the wound was probably the worst thing he could have done. All eyes were on him yet again. He showed a brief moment of hesitation and then lifted his shirt high enough to reveal the wound, which was now partially dried. Upon revealing it, Kanji and Teddie turned away while Naoto stared in a terrified shock until Kanji turned her around. "_I'm not getting an infection," _Jack thought in surprise, _"Doesn't this universe doesn't have bacteria?"_ If Yukiko was going to cry or hurl, she gave no sign of it. Keeping her poker face she called upon Amaterastsu, surrounding Jack with a warm light. The wound magically closed but it didn't heal completely, leaving only a faint scar of where he had been stabbed, most likely due to him not healing the wound earlier.

"Let me go!" Naoto demanded, trying to get away from Kanji's grip. Kanji wasn't sure why she was trying to stand but he knew he would probably cause some problems if he didn't oblige. Letting go, Naoto hopped off quickly but before she could walk, Kanji held her by the shoulder, expressing concern.  
"Naoto, aren't you hurt?"  
"I'm more than fine Kanji, please don't worry about me."  
"I-if you say so."

Naoto quickly walked to Jack and stared him straight in the eyes. Jacked stared back warily, unsure of what he may have done wrong. Before he could even speak Jack was suddenly stopped with a heavy handed smack from Naoto herself. Jack took a step back in pain and shock as the others stared at the two. Naoto then walked away followed by Kanji and Teddie soon after. Yukiko said nothing to Jack but was still too weak to walk properly, so Jack picked her back up and followed the three. He soon came upon a strange stage; body markers were taped upon the floor and it looked almost like a concert stage if the fog around the area didn't make it feel somewhat creepy. Yosuke and Chie were waving at the group upon arrival; they seemed to have recovered. To much of Jack's amazement, they were not alone. With the two stood a fox with a pink dotted red apron on its neck. Two bags were tied near its neck; one was full of leaves the other with something else. Jack couldn't really see what it was. Chie rushed toward Jack, helping Yukiko off his back. Chie reached for her own pocket and pulled out a leaf. Jack looked on confusion and then in surprise as Chie let Yukiko eat the leaf. Standing up a little uneasily Yukiko summoned Amaterastsu once again and bathed herself in the same aura from before. Shortly after, she was walking as well as everyone else.  
"What was that leaf?" Yosuke was the first to respond.  
"It's a Macca leaf. The Fox here supplies us with them to restore our spiritual energy, as long as we can pay for it."  
"That explains the two bags…I think." Jack looked at the Fox who replied with a simple yip.  
"Well let's go everyone," Said Teddie as he waited by a stack of 3 TVs. Within moments Naoto walked to the TVs and dove into the middle one. Kanji soon enough followed behind Naoto as Jack stood in bewilderment.  
"Uh well team….lets go?" Yosuke looked nearly surprised as Jack seeing the Naoto and Kanji go on ahead without them. Yukiko was the first to leave as Chie stared at Yosuke for a bit. A sigh soon escaped her as she walked ahead into the TV while Teddie nodded in disapproval. Jack wasn't sure about what was going on but he no time to question as Teddie shoved him to the TV.  
"Don't worry; everyone had me help them get out the first time."  
"Wait wh-" was all Jack could muster before being pushed through the TV.  
"What was it with Chie?" Yosuke groaned. "What did I do to deserve this?"  
"You're just not Senpai. Being a leader is sssooo not you Yosuke." Teddie retorted.  
"And someone is getting their paid cut."  
"Uh….I didn't say anything." Teddie let Yosuke go through the TVs as he followed suit and closed the portal. Moments later Jack awoke, finding himself in the surrounded by the others and a ton of electronics. "_TVs TVs everywhere. Do they all lead to the same place?"_Jack thought as Kanji helped him stand back up. There was another moment of awkward silence as Jack thanked them and preparing to leave. Before he could walk away, Yosuke stepped forward and caught him by the shoulder.  
"Hey Jack, don't you feel tired?  
"Uh….No, I feel fine, why?"  
"Nah its cool, normally most folks tend to be tired from being in that world for their first time."  
"Normally? Is there something wrong with me?" Jack looked a little worried, hearing that this was an irregularity among them. A few angry looks from Chie sent shivers down Yosuke's spine.  
"Uh…no! No! Nothing like that! Our leader was like that too!" responded Yosuke who was quickly trying to not scare Jack into mistrusting them.  
"Uh…leader?"  
"Look we'll talk about this later, okay? It's kinda late and we do have school tomorrow. Just get home for now and we'll talk about it later."  
"Uh…I guess I don't have much of a choice." Jack bid the others farewell as he ran back home. He couldn't help but wonder what they were possibly hiding from him. _There's way too much I don't know,_ he thought, _How did they know I was in the TV and how did even get inside? I got a lot more questions than I like. They'll probably have questions for me but...I don't think I'll answer...I can't afford to._ The quiet night lingered till Jack finally found himself home. To much of his surprise, he had not awakened his grandparents. _They didn't wake up from before? I was sure I made enough noise to wake the whole place. I guess I'm lucky that I didn't leave them to worry. Even luckier that I kept my key to the place with me, there's no way I can explain anything that could have happened._ Upon finding his room, Jack just collapsed in relief, free from all the drama he had dealt with today. He closed his eyes, falling into a deep sleep. Before Jack knew it he found himself back in someplace familiar, the sounds of a woman singing filling a large blue velvet room. It wasn't a limo interior but a rather extravagant looking interior of a chapel. He walked forward finding Igor and Margaret waiting for him near an altar with an empty coffin lying against it.  
"Welcome back, I hope that the changes to the Velvet Room fit to your liking." The elderly man spoke, with his usual unnerving grin.  
"Rather gothic, I say. A chapel is something I wasn't expecting at all." Jack joked at the two who gave no clear response back. Margaret faced Jack directly and cleared her throat.  
"The Velvet Room reflects upon the guest. For every new guest that enters this place it changes to accommodate that guest. Though we are not sure why, but you had entered the room of another guest when you came here."  
_I did? From the way she's speaking about it, it doesn't seem like it shouldn't have happened. Is there something wrong with me?_  
"Please don't look so troubled," Margaret continued, "However new this may be we are sworn to assist you in any way possible."  
"So…may I ask why I'm here again? Are you two always going to come to me in my sleep?" Igor let out a small chuckle which couldn't help but unnerve Jack a little. A velvet blue key appeared in front of Jack, floating as a gentle white light surrounded it.  
"It is now that I explain the purpose of the Velvet Room and services that we shall provide. Please, take the key."  
_Services?_ Jack thought as he took the key into his hands.  
"As you continue on your journey you will find that you contain more than the single entity you have at the moment. The demon lord, Diablos, is known as a persona. Personae are the demons and gods that live in the sea of your unconsciousness. My job is to aid you in how you use these demons, such as fusing the personae you collected and allow to access some who are normally unattainable for you. Margaret's role will be recording the many kinds of gods and demons you find within the sea of your soul."  
"You make it sound like there's going to be a ton of different demons and gods…" Igor said nothing but gave his own eerie version of a smile. With a simple wave from his hand Jack's vision soon clouded with a lingering message from Igor.

"From now on use the key if you are in need of our service. Let us see why Philemon chose you for this journey." Groggy and exhausted, Jack awoke on his bed still dressed from his insane first night in Inaba. Sitting up he felt something in his right pocket. Reaching in he took out the same velvet-blue key he had obtained in his dream. _So he really did mean it that he'll help me out. I wonder what kind of beings live inside my mind._ Jack got up, making sure he took a quick shower and quickly ironed out his school uniform. Soon enough he was dashing out to school. Dashing through students and fighting off the lack of sleep he obviously had he ran into the entrance. Unfortunately he didn't pay attention as he tripped on the elevated floor and came crashing with a loud thump. A few students stared while others did their best to ignore what had just occurred. Jack sat up rubbing his skull from his embarrassing fall when someone stopped in front of him. A hand reached forward offering him help which Jack gladly took. Jack took a better look at who helped him. He had orange hair and wearing a Yasogami gym uniform. A noticeable feature was the single bandaid placed on the bridge of his nose.  
"Hey are you alright?" the student asked.  
"Yeah…Been better. Um, sorry, the name is Jack, Jack Moutou."  
"Oh you're that new guy that the school's been talking about."  
"They talk about me?"  
"Well, it's a small town. Word gets around fast. I heard you talked out at Hiro Takiyama on live television."  
"Oh yeah…I did." Jack having nearly forgotten that instant could suddenly picture's Hiro's enraged face. He couldn't help but sigh at the thought.  
"Uh…Dude, you alright? Oh! Yeah, my bad, the name's Nagase Daisuke. Uh, Daisuke is the first name by the way."  
"Yeah I could figure that out, uh sorry I'm kinda out of it."

"Well anyways if you're interested in playing a sport, why not join the soccer team in school? Even if you're new to it you might get better at it if you join." Jack stood there for a moment, oddly surprised by the invite. _It…might be fun, _Jack though as he lifted his hand towards Daisuke. Daisuke looked dumbfounded at first but quickly took his hand and smiled, shaking his hand. Jack couldn't help but smile a little. Once again, the world froze and before Jack the image of another blue tarot card appeared before him. This time it contained an image of an upside down man with the moon behind his head. His leg was attached to the top and barbed wires outlined the back. A voice in his head spoke…_Thou art I_…_ And I am thou… Thou hast established a new bond… It brings thee closer to the truth… Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Hanged Man Arcana…_ Jack stood dumbfounded for a moment. _Hanged Man Arcana? Daisuke? I guess I will be speaking to Igor about this…_ The world soon returned to normal as Jack bid Daisuke farewell, heading to class to meet with Yosuke, Chie and Yukiko.


	9. Chapter 9: A Choice

_Oh this is taking forever... Why can't time move faster? _grumbled Jack as Ms. Toriumi spoke on about different styles of literature that trailed off quickly to the ones she preferred. Jack forced himself to stay awake. As time flew by slowly, Jack's anticipation to speak to the Investigation Team grew. Finally, school was over and Jack reached for the velvet key that Igor had given him in his pocket.

"Hey Yosuke, have you ever seen this before," revealing the key to Yosuke, hoping to get some sort of answer.

"Uh...Jack, are you ok? I mean yeah you just came back from the TV yesterday so you shouldn't be here...But you're showing me nothing but air."

"Air? You mean key right?"

"Dude, what key?" Jack stood quiet for a moment, not wanting to believe only he could see; he could feel this key in his hand but no one else could. He retracted his hand and put the key in his pocket, deciding it was best to not bother mentioning it again. Before Yosuke could ensure Jack was 100% there, Chie and Yukiko came along from their seats to meet them both.

"So everyone knows?" Chie asked.

"Yep, called Kanji to tell Naoto last night," Yosuke confirmed.

"Uh...What's going on?" Jack looked at everyone in confusion as he still was the odd man out from the group. Yukiko smiled and bent forward towards Jack, startling him a little.

"We're heading towards our special headquarters." Jack wasn't sure what to expect as they dragged him along to the June's supermarket. He was able to share some idle chat with most of them with only Naoto ignoring any attempt of Jack talking to her. _She must still be mad at me. I guess I can't really blame her... _The group led Jack to the food court in Junes where they all moved a few chairs around a round table that sat near the balcony. Each of them sat down and signaled Jack to join them.

"We're here." Yukiko smiled along with the others, as if this was a very special moment within the group. Jack looked around and was astonished by how ordinary of a location they were in. _It's literally nothing more than a food court, what makes this place so special?_

"Bet you're confused on why we are here. Well about a year ago our leader, Chie and I decided to make this spot our place to discuss some incidents that happened in Inaba."

"There was an incident here?" Chie gave Yosuke a pretty fierce stare give him some visible shivers."

"Yosuke don't scare him! There were just some issues involving a police officer...nothing major."

"Uh...sure..." _Great, more secrets._

"Well this spot is great! Not too far from the electronics department or the food court and we get some sun while sitting on our asses." Kanji smiled as he walked off to the counter with food obviously on his mind. The rest of the group then turned their focus to Jack, still curious about his situation. The evening became filled with questions about Jack's Shadow and the appearance of his own persona. Jack however decided against answer the questions. _This has nothing to do with them, why do they want to know? I can't tell them, it won't help me or them._ A few hours passed and Yosuke gave a sigh. Chie and Kanji couldn't help but be irritated with Jack while Yukiko and Naoto had to keep them in check. Yosuke decided a different approach was better than just a bunch of random questions.

"You have to speak to us, this is the first time we saw a shadow behave that way. I mean everyone has a side they don't want to admit but your shadow..."

"I was honestly scared, I think we all were. You just came here recently and suddenly, not even two nights in, your shadow appeared and tried to kill you the same night. This has never happened before."

"Most of the time we have till the fog sets in our world." Jack's faced lifted up in confusion. It seemed strange that he would alienate the fog.

"Isn't fog from our world?" Yosuke saw this pique of interest as a moment to get Jack to open up a little.

"Normally yeah, but didn't you notice? The world in the TV is foggy on its own. It shouldn't be though..."

"Ok what's going on? You have my interest, so...please."

"...Alright. About 2 years ago a series of murders began over here in Inaba. A former police officer had lost it and murdered 3 people by throwing them into the TV and waiting for the fog to clear in that world. When that happens, the Shadows in that world go nuts and kill the humans inside it. A friend of mine, the leader, and I made a vow to stop it. Soon we just helped the rest of the group and they joined us in stop the murders. The TV world was covered in a thick fog that only could be seen with our glasses, but our leader stopped Izanami, a goddess who created the fog. Afterwards the TV was turned into something honestly beautiful. We need to figure out about your shadow and what happened to the TV world. Right now, only he and his girlfriend aren't here and I'm sure we aren't enough to figure this all out."  
For a brief moment Jack though he saw Naoto give a look of disdain at the mention of the word "girlfriend." _I guess some history is between Naoto and those two... _Jack quickly returned his concentration to the story Yosuke had shared with him.

"So you want me to help you out with the abnormalities and my shadow?"

"Pretty much, I hope you'll consider this an offer. We can't force you to join us but with your help I'm sure we can figure this out."

"...If none of what happen earlier happened, I would have thought this was nuts. As of now my own shadow is on the loose and this TV world has broken down from what it once was, am I right? Then I guess I'm in. I have some responsibility for you guys having to deal with this and I don't want to find out that other people are going to go missing." _Plus the less you know about me the better..._

"So you'll really join us?" Yosuke looked surprised by Jack's immediate choice. Chie, Yukiko and Kanji shared a grin to their new member. Naoto simply nodded. Jack nodded with a small smile.

"Looks like the Investigation Team is back!" Chie cheered.

"Investigation Team? Sounds like we're detectives or something," Jack couldn't help by smile at the idea of being a detective, "I kinda like it." Once again, the world froze and before Jack the image of another blue tarot card appeared before him. This time it contained an image familiar to Jack. A picture of a man one step away from falling off a cliff appeared; accompanying the man was a dog. A voice in his head spoke…_Thou art I_…_ And I am thou… Thou hast established a new bond… It brings thee closer to the truth… Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Fool Arcana… _Jack couldn't help but be surprised by the new arcana, especially since it was one he was able to use before. _Maybe's there's more to this then I thought. _Time then resumed.

"Let me ask you this Jack, do you remember how you entered the TV?"

"Actually...I do."

"Really? That's great," Chie beamed.

"Uh, well...to be honest...it happened twice. Once during my first day here and once again during last night's random rainfall at midnight the TV was off I had... Uh...I sort of passed out in front of the TV," Jack looked away embarrassed. He wasn't a fan of looking the slacker role but he decided that telling them what happened is more important than his own image. "Well, Naoto had asked me about a 'Midnight Channel.' I, however, denied my first sighting of the Channel."

"..." Naoto did nothing but stay quiet and let Jack continue his story.

"Well there wasn't anything I could say about the first time. A silhouette laughing on top a tombstone, who'd believe that? Then yesterday... a voice asked me if I wanted to face the truth...whatever that meant." Jack tried his best to not let the worth "truth" get to him, it wasn't something he needed to share with them. "I tried to figure out who it was but then a stream of hands came out and dragged me into the TV. The voice was other worldly just like the hands; the next thing I knew, I was in a grave and I got stabbed, going back into unconsciousness."

"So a bunch of hands reached out for you?" Chie looked at Jack in astonishment.

"Woah..." Kanji gave a similar look back.

"Seems like we'll remain in the dark," replied Yukiko.

"Huh? What, didn't that happen to any of you?" Jack looked back in surprise.

"Again, no," Yosuke sighed.

"We aren't getting, anywhere are we?"

"Well, it's true that we have no experience with what happened in your scenario," replied Naoto, "however what bothers me is are two things. One, what made the TV world change so suddenly that it's back to what it was a year ago. The other thing, what took Jack in, from he said, was an internal source in the TV. Is there something in there repeating Taro Namatame's crimes?"

All that was certain was that Jack's experience was something completely different from their experiences. Silence filled the group for a few moments; no one was sure what was going on or if there was even any objective in the first place. Soon enough Yosuke's cell phone gave a ring, disrupting the silence. Yosuke hurried along and checked the phone. A smile came upon his face. He quickly picked up the phone and gave a listen.

"Hey! Yeah? Oh sure, let me switch it to speaker." Everyone shared a confused look as Yosuke switched on his phone to speaker.

"Hey guys," said a rather relaxed male voice.

"Hiya!" giggled a female voice. Soon everyone jumped in excitement. Jack looked at them all in confusion.

"Yu! Rise!" They all called out. Jack looked at the group in a mixed of confusion and interest.

"Hey all! Risette here! I found Senpai here at Osaka! I thought it'd be nice to call you all!"

"Woah, you're both in Osaka?"

"I gotta agree with Chie, that's pretty amazing, especially for you Senpai!" Kanji responded.

"Haha well yeah, hey guys. I'm on a small vacation with my parents and it happens that Rise was here having a photo shoot."

"It was lucky that I found Yu-Senpai here," Rise sounded completely ecstatic, "I missed him so much." The sound of squeezing from a hug could be heard. Jack couldsee small sweat drops upon the others as the sounds of suffocation echoed through the phone.

"Well, now I'm taking her out for lunch. It has been a while since I saw her."

"Tell them already senpai!" Rise giggled.

"Ah...well Rise found out she'll be free around July and I had a conversation with my parents so we'll both be heading to Inaba for July."

"Really? That's great Yu!" Yukiko called out.

"Hey! We should have a party for them!"

"That sounds like a good idea Chie," Kanji agreed.

"I like it myself," Yukiko smiled. Naoto was smiling herself but remembered the fact that Jack was with them.

"Ah yes! Yu-senpai, Rise," she called out. "We've made a new friend. His name is Jack Motou." Jack suddenly sat up straight in surprise of being mention.

"Uh...hi?"

"Hey Jack."

"Hiya!"

"How's Inaba Jack? I haven't been there for quite a while, so I'm kinda curious."

"Uh it's been great, these people are pretty nice." _Why does it feel easy to talk to him...who is this guy?_

"Glad to hear it, if you run into any trouble, contact my uncle or Naoto. They can usually help."

"Sure, no problem then I guess."

"Gre-"

"Yu! Let's get lunch! I can feel my stomach starting to growl."

"Ah...guys, we'll call and talk to you later."

"Bye all, see you soon!" The phone went silent and Yosuke hung up. The group had a few small smiles.

"Oh hey, Jack."

"Yeah, Yosuke?"

"When Teddie is done with his shift, would you like to come to the TV world? We'd like to see what you could do with your Persona...if you don't mind of course?"  
Jack thought for a moment, wondering if he should put himself in something much too strange. _Well I did agree to help...but it was kinda life threatening...damn I really didn't think that through._ He just decided to nod in agreement and the group prepared for Jack's real journey into the TV. As soon as Teddie's shift was over the group told him about the few things he missed, which ticked him off for a certain degree, but he agreed to take Jack to the TV world. In the electronics department, Jack stared at the large TV he had came out of after his incident. After a quick check around the area Jack brushed his finger tips on the TV screen as instructed by Yosuke. The screen rippled as if it was water and Jack felt himself swallow. _Welp, here goes nothing_, came across Jack's mind as he entered the TV.


End file.
